HAYDEN, Idaho — Hayden residents will pay more for sewer service and boat launches beginning Oct. 1 under a new fee schedule the City Council unanimously approved at a special meeting Sept. 29.
The residential monthly sewer rate rises from $66 to $69.25, an increase of $3.25 a month, or $39 a year. Daily boat launch fees rise from $5 to $10 for in-state users and from $10 to $20 for out-of-state users.
WATCH: Hayden’s fee schedule discussion at the Sept. 29 City Council special meeting.
Council members Ed DePriest, Matt Roetter, Tom Shafer and David Erickson voted to approve the fiscal year 2027 fee schedule. The update modifies eight of the city’s nine fee tables, including recreation, events, development applications, building inspections, impact fees and sewer charges.
City Administrator Lisa Ailport said most increases reflect higher costs of providing services, including labor and materials.
Sewer charges
Staff described the monthly sewer adjustment as approximately 5%, with most of the increase attributed to treatment costs and the remainder to the city’s collection system.
The presentation identified collection projects including H2 piping improvements, gravity sewer upgrades on Honeysuckle and East Hayden avenues, and updates to the sewer master plan and rate studies.
The city also increased the collection component of its sewer capitalization fee from $5,244 to $6,522 per equivalent residential unit, a $1,278 increase. The charge applies to connections to the system and is separate from monthly sewer bills. It is one component of the total capitalization fee.
The city had published a preliminary collection fee of $6,944, but the consultant’s final calculation was lower. Ailport linked the increase to infrastructure added to the sewer system, including approximately $10 million in the H6 basin.
The mayor removed a separate resolution adopting the sewer capitalization fee report from the agenda because the written report was still pending. Council nevertheless approved the fee schedule incorporating the revised amount.
Boat launch fees
Annual boat launch passes also increase. The in-state pass for the first two vehicles in the same household rises from $40 to $80. The out-of-state pass for the first two household vehicles rises from $60 to $160, according to the city’s presentation.
Ailport said boat launch rates had remained unchanged for at least 10 years. She cited maintenance needs, planned improvements and a recent $30,000 replacement of the payment kiosk at Honeysuckle Beach.
One resident who testified questioned fee enforcement and maintenance and urged the city to charge out-of-state users substantially more. City officials said conditions attached to a grant limit commercial and out-of-state charges to twice the local rate.
Before the vote, council corrected a fee listed in the resolution’s exhibit. The annual commercial boat launch charge for each additional vehicle registered to a business is $40, rather than the $80 mistakenly shown in the packet.
Recreation, appeals and building fees
Recreation fees were adjusted while retaining a taxpayer subsidy. Ailport said program fee revenue covers approximately half of recreation costs and that recovering the full cost would make participation prohibitively expensive. Council members emphasized the importance of affordable recreation.
The new adult self-officiated volleyball team rates are $205 for residents and $230 for nonresidents. Youth baseball and volleyball rates are $36 for residents and $45 for nonresidents.
Appeal and reconsideration fees also increase. Requests handled at a council public meeting rise from $245 to $400. Those requiring a council public hearing rise from $600 to $800, plus notice costs.
During deliberations, Shafer questioned the increase, citing council’s previous interest in keeping the financial barrier to appeals low. Staff said the proposed amounts reflected service costs and direction from an earlier workshop.
The building plan review check fee rises from 10% of the building permit fee, with a $25 minimum, to 25%, with a $50 minimum. Commercial plan review remains at 65%, with a $50 minimum added. Residential reinspection and final inspection fees rise from $60 to $105.
Council also unanimously accepted the Development Impact Fee Advisory Committee’s recommendation for fiscal year 2027 impact fee increases before adopting the overall schedule.
The new schedule takes effect Oct. 1, 2026, the first day of the city’s fiscal year.